Hippocratic Oath: a critical analysis

Abstract

The Hippocratic Oath is, perhaps, the most important text of medical ethics in the Western world. Widely discussed since the Middle Ages by students and philosophers, even with the so-called end of Hippocratic medicine in favor of the scientific method, the document still raises essential ethical questions and is adopted, with variations, in various educational institutions worldwide. This review analyzes the original texts, presents some of the interpretations it received throughout history and its readings and versions in different languages, and offers a modern and commented translation of the original in Greek. Finally, its adoption in medical schools today is discussed.